display
Amsterdam / Düsseldorf (dpa) - After more than four months of strict lockdown, the Netherlands have taken a big step back to normal.
The shops were allowed to receive customers again on Wednesday - without a prior appointment.
The outdoor areas of the cafés and restaurants should also reopen at 12 noon.
The unpopular evening curfew has been abolished.
Border regions in North Rhine-Westphalia view the measures with concern.
The Dutch government had decided to relax, despite persistently high infection rates and great pressure on hospitals.
It is a “calculated risk”, said the Executive Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
The government's scientific advisors criticized the steps as premature and warned of an emergency in hospitals.
Cafes and restaurants may serve customers outside, subject to conditions, until 6 p.m.
The popular «terrasjes» (terraces) had even been closed for more than six months.
For the catering association, it's about "a little ray of hope".
display
Citizens can also receive two guests a day at home instead of one person previously.
And students also receive face-to-face classes at least one day a week.
All events with an audience such as sports competitions, museums, theaters and cinemas are also prohibited.
There is also a mask requirement in public buildings and a safety distance of 1.5 meters.
The Netherlands remains a high incidence country with around 220 infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days (figures from Tuesday).
More than five million citizens have already been vaccinated with at least one dose, around 30 percent of adults.
display
In the North Rhine-Westphalian border areas there are meanwhile concerns about possible infections.
The district of Heinsberg had asked the citizens to refrain from unnecessary trips and day trips.
The district administrator of the Borken district, Kai Zwicker (CDU), also appealed to the population not to go to the Netherlands to go shopping or go to a café.
North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) and the Dutch Justice Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus had also asked the population in North Rhine-Westphalia not to go to the Netherlands.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210428-99-384386 / 2
Government information